Accidental Lovers
by kem81
Summary: Yachiru has been setting Kenpachi up on dates. What happens when a female squad members gets tipsy and comes to his rescue?
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Bleach. Also - you will notice that that I use the English terms rather then the Japanese terms. For example, I use "spiritual pressure" instead of "reatsu" (no clue how it's spelled, and I don't feel like looking it up). When I wrote this, I wrote it all at once and later split it into chapters. There are a few sex scenes and I have not separated them out. If there are requests to, I'll do so at a later date. Reviews are welcome. I have this taking place sometime before Ichigo ever has his Soul Reaper abilities activated. In general, I don't like writing along with one of the arcs as I hate seeing the original cannon modified to add in a character.**

**The character Suzume used to be Kourri. I liked Kourri better, but when I was reading someone else's story, they used the name Kouri and I didn't want the names to be so similar. I'm pretty sure I changed all the Kourri's to Suzume's, but if I didn't, let me know.**

* * *

Kenpachi's birthday was in a week. Various members of the 11th Division were getting things ready for the party. Ikkaku and Yumichika were in charge of the food and drinks and Yachiru was in charge of decorations. As the date drew near, people were getting more and more interested in what Suzume was going to be making for him. Suzume had a talent for carving and wood working. For Yachiru's birthday, she had carved her a dragon. In the right light, it seemed to move, it was carved so perfectly. Yumichika had gotten a peacock for his birthday. Now it was Kenpachi's turn.

"Aren't you even going to give us a hint, Suzume?" Yumichika begged the 17th seat of the 11th division.

Suzume laughed, her hazel eyes twinkling, "If I give you a hint, you'll end up guessing it and then it might get back to the captain. I want it to be a surprise. No one knew what you were getting from me when it was your birthday and I didn't give out any hints either." She pushed her chin length brown hair out of her eyes.

"Have you finished it?" Ikkaku asked.

"Of course," She replied. She looked at the guys slightly hesitantly. "I know party plans are your main focus this week, but do you think either of you have time to help me with training? I just achieved shikai and I could use some practice."

"I have some time this afternoon. Yumichika has most of the plans well in hand." Ikkaku replied. "Training grounds after lunch?"

"I'll be there." Suzume replied with a grin.

Yumichika clapped his hands in excitement. "So what kind of weapon does it turn in to?" He asked excitedly.

Suzume frowned. "It's a scythe like you would use to harvest wheat except the entire blade is sharp, not just the one side."

"That's odd," Ikkaku responded. "I'm sure you'll be just fine with it. Have you hand a chance to fight with it yet?"

She shook her head. "Not really. I've worked a little with my zanpakuto's spirit, but I keep feeling like I'm disappointing him."

"I'm sure you'll learn it just fine, Suzume." Yumichika patted Kourri on the back consolingly.

* * *

Later at the training grounds.

"Are you ready Suzume?"

Concentrating on her zanpakuto, Suzume called out, "Come out, Tamashī no karitori!" the katana elongated and curved into a scythe. Her left hand moved to the handle half way up the scythe's shaft and the right stayed down towards the end.

Ikkaku looked over the weapon. "I think some of the movements we can work on for you and that scythe are going to be similar to spear movements." Ikkaku released his own zanpakuto and started with simple thrusts and parries and moved on to slashes working Suzume until she could barely hold the scythe up in a guard position.

"Good work, Suzume. It's almost dinner time. Why don't you go get cleaned up and I'll see you there."

Suzume was bent over with her hands on her knees huffing from the recent exertion. She gave him a breathy thanks and waited until she caught her breath. As her breathing slowly went back to normal, she sensed a familiar spiritual pressure; that of her captain. Straightening and letting her zanpakuto go back to it's katana shape, she sheathed it and turned to face her captain.

"Good evening, Captain Zaraki." She said with a smile. When she had first joined the squad a year ago, she had a small crush on the man. She had had a hard time looking him in the eye too, but he had quickly broken her of that habit. The crush was still there, but with it was respect and admiration too.

"I see you've achieved shikai. How do you like the weapon it becomes?" He asked as he walked closer to the young soul reaper.

His presence could still be a little overwhelming, but Suzume found that as long as he wasn't too angry, she didn't feel like taking steps back as he walked towards her. The first time she had met him when she had been assigned the 11th division and was reporting for duty, all he had to do was take a step towards her and she would subconsciously take a step back. He had, of course, noticed it and caused her to walk right up against a wall, got really close and had said, "There, that isn't so bad, is it?" He had laughed about it and found it to be an entertaining joke whenever she was in his presence. This turned out to be quite frequent as he had purposely assigned her to retrieve and deliver paperwork to force her into the game as frequently as possible. It had taken a good month for her to stop doing that. It wasn't that he was scaring her, it was more his spiritual pressure was just too thick for her in the beginning.

"It's a little awkward. I think that more practice will help me get used to it. I'm glad Ikkaku was willing to help me out." She responded with a tired smile.

Kenpachi nodded. "Tomorrow you'll work with me. Same time."

Surprised, but looking forward to it, Suzume nodded, "As you wish, Captain Zaraki." Suzume bowed to him and turned to walk back to her quarters. Her quarters were rather spartan. A small kitchen to the right, a combination dining/living area just as you walked in, a bathroom that only consisted of a toilet and sink was a little further back, and a small bedroom that was straight back from the entry door. The only place to bathe was at the squad's bath house.

Hidden in the closet was her gift to her captain. Only one more week until she would give it to him. She knew he would like it, she seemed to have a sixth sense about what people would like or not like. In a chest next to the foot of her bed she had other items she had made that were waiting for the right person. They had all started as blocks of wood. Sometimes she would stare at those blocks for days trying to see the shape hidden within and then remove every bit that wasn't it.

She grabbed her toiletries and headed to the bath house to get cleaned up for dinner. Later she headed to dinner and enjoyed the camaraderie.

* * *

**Tamashī no karitori means Reaper of Souls according to Google Translate. If it's wrong, blame Google.**


	2. Chapter 2

The next day.

She knew Kenpachi was taking it easy on her but still she found herself winded all the same. Eventually she became too tired to get out of the way of his sword. He stopped his blade a hairsbreadth from her face. Suzume let out a yelp and fell backward onto her butt. The sword was removed and a hand reached down in an offer to help her up. Suzume took it and he heaved her to her feet roughly.

"You've improved greatly since you first joined. I may have to think about raising your rank soon." His zampakuto was resting casually on his right shoulder as he was speaking. "Continue to work hard 17th seat Issada."

"Yes, Captain Zaraki. I will." Suzume replied with a bow.

The next several days went much the same. Mornings were spent with the captain as paperwork was delivered to other divisions and afternoons were spent training, usually with Ikkaku though sometimes, she went to the squad's weight room to work on strengthening her body.

All too soon, Kenpachi's birthday had arrived. Streamers and balloons festooned every surface that could have something tied to it. Yachiru didn't seem to use a specific color scheme, but seemed to make it look like a rainbow had vomited everywhere. The third and fifth seat had supplied all kinds of dishes with the financial help of the rest of the squad. Casks of beer and cases of sake were available for drinking. If they had their way, no one would be leaving there sober.

While this was a party intended for squad 11 members only, the other captains had been invited and several had come. The gifts had all been stacked in a pile and everyone had started to call out for Kenpachi to start opening them. Suzume quickly ran back to her quarters and pulled out the gift from the closet. It was rather large so carrying it was a little difficult, but she managed. When she arrived back at the party, Kenpachi had only a few more gifts to go. Around him was spread an assortment of hair bells, gel, beer, and sake. Kenpachi was opening the last gift, a jar of healing ointment from Captain Onohana when Suzume stepped forward with her gift. She didn't have a chance to wrap it, so she waited until her captain had finished thanking the captain of the 4th squad before stepping forward and presenting it to him.

"What's this?" Kenpachi asked his 17th seat as she staggered forward holding a large wooden chest.

"It's my gift to you. I hope you like it Captain Zaraki." Suzume set it down in front of him, bowed and stepped back to let her captain take a good look.

The chest had a rich cherry wood finish and was 3 1/2 feet long, 1 ½ feet wide and about 2 feet tall. On either side of the lid were arms that reached up to allow a sword to be placed on it. The lid could be lifted even while a sword was placed in the cradle. The lid had the same division 11 insignia that was on the captain's jacket. It had been carved deeply onto the lid and was stained ebony. She had also raised the chest a little with the use of fat stubby legs. Inside was an insert that could pull out as needed with spaces to separate items from each other.

Everyone ohh'd and ahhh'd at the chest and after a few minutes, Kenpachi finally looked up from the chest. "You made this?" His hands never left the chest, touching it delicately, almost as if he was afraid it would disappear on him.

Suzume nodded shyly. She was used to her gifts being fawned over, but this was a little more than usual. To her, this was a rather simple piece, easily put together. It was a solid piece and she was proud of it, but to her it wasn't really all that impressive. The peacock was far more difficult than this.

Kenpachi gave her one of his rare genuine smiles, "Thank you Suzume. This is amazing."

Suzume did the only think she could think of, she bowed to her captain, "I'm glad you like it, Captain Zaraki. Happy birthday."

A little while later found Suzume sitting under a tree, slowly drinking a cup of sake and refilling from a jug as necessary. Every now and then someone would remark to her about what a wonderful gift she had made and hinted that similar items would not be unappreciated come their birthdays. Suzume smiled at the comments and told them that she would think about it. She leaned her head back against the tree and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of the warmth flowing up to her face from the sake. She was enjoying the slight buzz it gave her.

The 17th seat was a little surprised to feel the spiritual pressure of her captain as he sat down next to her.

"I was kind of expecting some animal like you've given other people."

"No animal seemed right. Are you disappointed? I have a nice tiger I've already made that I don't know who to give to yet."

Kenpachi laughed. "No. I like the chest very much. What made you think of it?"

Suzume opened one eye to look at her captain indirectly, "I don't really know. Like I said, it just seemed right. I kinda feel like I gyped you on a gift though. The chest is actually really easy to make. It's the animal figures that give me so much trouble." She closed her eye again, enjoying the company and the sake. She reached down for her cup and because she still had her eyes closed, ended up touching Kenpachi's hand. Suzume's eyes snapped open as she sharply inhaled and withdrew her hand as if it had been burned. Kenpachi looked at her wondering what was wrong.

A blush crept across her cheeks as she managed to get out, "I meant to pick up my sake cup." She suited actions to words and picked up the offending cup and took a deeper pull than normal.

"I'm not going to bark at you because you touched me, you know. It's almost like that first month all over again. At least now you stand still when I walk towards you."

The red staining Suzume's cheeks receded. "It wasn't that I was timid or scared of you. Don't get me wrong, you can be downright scary when you want to be. It was being around that kind of spiritual pressure. You hear about it, but nothing prepares you for feeling it. It's a bit overwhelming, especially for someone at my level of spiritual pressure. Hell, when you raise it high enough, I still want to take a step back from you." As Suzume spoke, Kenpachi watched her. And here he thought she had just been afraid of him all that time.

The captain turned his head back to the party as he spoke, "Can you stop with all the bowing? It's so formal and I'm not the captain of the sixth squad, you know."

Suzume smiled. "As you wish, Captain." And made a mock half bow from her seated position. Laughing, Kenpachi pushed her over.

"I mean it, Suzume."

Hand over her heart, she responded with, "I promise." Satisfied, Kenpachi nodded and continued to sit with her, eventually reaching over for the sake bottle and draining it of the rest of it's contents.

Suzume laughed. "I don't know how you can drink so much and not even get a little drunk."

"Part of it is practice and part of it is because of my spiritual pressure. Because of it, I heal very quickly. I think it treats alcohol as another wound to be healed. Now-a-days, I drink because I enjoy the taste. Not to get drunk." Kenpachi looked up and saw Yachiru bounding toward him with one of the woman from her woman's club following behind. "Shit. Not again."

"hmmm?" Suzume asked lazily as she looked towards her captain.

"She keeps on trying to set me up with women from that Female Soul Reaper Association thing Yachiru belongs to." He growled, not looking forward to this embarrassment again.

"Kenny! I want you to meet Nemu," she called out excitedly.

With a stone like face, and extra gruff voice to let Yachiru know he didn't like this new fascination of hers, he replied, "I've already met her," as he stood up.

"Oh good! You should take her out on a date!"

Suzume watched this exchange with dismay. Was this why her captain was sometimes so angry? Maybe the drink was starting to affect her, but she decided to make a snap decision and hope it turned out for the best. In her best pouty voice, she said, "But Captain, I thought _we_ were on a date. It isn't fair for you to be thinking about going on a date with someone else in the middle of our date."

The captain of the 11th turned to Suzume with a small look of horror in his eye. When he had turned, he had blocked Yachiru's and Nemu's view of her, so she gave him a quick wink, hoping that he would get the ruse. His lips quirked up in a smile and turned back to Yachiru and Nemu. "She's right Yachiru. That was quite rude. Now if you'll excuse us, my date and I would like a little more time alone." He quickly sat down and turned towards Suzume to signify that the conversation was over.

Yachiru was surprised and pleased and walked away with Nemu.

Suzume giggled. "You looked like you could use an out, Captain Zaraki."

"Considering that we're on a date now, you can start calling me Kenpachi."

"But….but.." she stammered.

"You're the one that said it. I need a break from her constantly trying to hook me up with those women. I wish I knew what's gotten in to her. She used to be just fine with just the two of us. It's like I'm not enough for her anymore." He sighed.

"Maybe she just wants to see you happy and thinks you would be happy with a woman. You do like woman and not men right? She's not barking up the wrong tree with you, is she?"

Kenpachi growled at Suzume, some of his spiritual energy snapping out with his anger. She had that feeling to back away. It must have been in her eyes because he reigned in his spiritual pressure, put a hand gently under her chin and pulled her close. The kiss was light but thorough, causing Suzume to gasp a little when he finished. "I have no interest in men other than fighting them." He sighed again, releasing her face, "I can't stand to be around most of those women. At least I like being around you. I meant what I said. Let's make this a date. And maybe, if I'm lucky, it will keep Yachiru off my back for a little while." The look of shock on Suzume's face was enough to make him chuckle. "Come on. Let's get some food in you to soak up some of that sake. I wouldn't want my date to get too drunk now."

"I'm quite sober now, thank you very much." Suzume replied as though still in a daze. Considering that she was still in a daze, it worked out. He had been so gentle. His tongue lightly brushing her lips during the kiss. She had expected him to be rough; not soft and gentle. She had expected growling; not to be kissed.

Kenpachi chuckled again as if he knew _exactly_ how good he kissed and said, "Then let's get some more sake in you to help you relax." He stood up and held a hand down to her to help her up. Suzume took it and he gently lifted her up, again surprising her. "You look stunned. Like a deer that's been spooked by a predator."

_How could he read her so well, _thought Suzume. Out loud she said, "You're full of surprises tonight Ca… Kenpachi. Here I was just expecting a quiet evening for an 11th squad party and now you've gone and kissed me. Not that I mind, it's just that I wasn't expecting it."

Kenpachi snorted, "That's what you get for asking if I'm gay."

Suzume put her hands up in mock surrender, and Kenpachi smiled. They spent the rest of the evening in each other's company and true to his words, Kenpachi treated it as a real date, asking her questions and getting to know her. He realized that even though she had been in his division for a year, he really didn't know a ton about her. This wasn't out of the ordinary as she was only 17th seat and nowhere near strong enough to offer him any kind of challenge.

He was surprised to learn that she couldn't use kido at all or any of the charms. She had almost been kicked out of the academy but it was her swordsmanship and hand to hand skills that kept her. She even showed him by reciting a kido chant, a low level one at that and all that happened was a little puff of smoke and a tiny flash of light. It made him laugh. It was a good thing she was in his squad where kido didn't matter. He asked her about her family and what district she came from. He was always interested in what it was like to have a family so he asked questions about growing up with her 3 older brothers.

"The southern seventh district?" Kenpachi asked incredulously. The rest of his men came from the outer districts where fighting was important and needed to survive. Someone from one of the inner districts should be some stuck up prissy ass that didn't know one end of the sword from the other.

"So surprised?" Suzume laughed. "Yeah. I'm the only one in my family with any kind of spiritual pressure. They wanted me to stay and help with the family business, but I wanted to do something with it that mattered. When I found I couldn't use kido, I concentrated on fighting."

"Family business?"

"I thought you would have guessed. It's wood working. My dad is a carpenter. A really good one at that. In fact, I think your desk in your office was made by him."

"How did you start carving?" He asked.

"I used to have a bit of a temper growing up. It felt like I was always being treated differently than my older brothers. Which, to be fair, I was, but back then I didn't understand that they could do things I couldn't yet because they _are_ older than me. During one of those times, my dad handed me a block of wood and a carving knife and he said, 'carve until you're calm again.' I think I ended up with a toothpick by the time I was done." Suzume laughed at the memory and Kenpachi joined in.

"What was the first thing you really carved?" he prodded.

"A very small bird from a block this big." She moved her hands to indicate that the block was about 7 inches square and then again to show how tiny the "bird" was. "The knife would keep slipping and it would unbalance the piece and then I would have to adjust everything else to match and …. Well, by the end it was just a mess."

The night was getting late so Kenpachi escorted her to her room like a gentleman. At her door, he cleared his throat nervously, "So…." He rubbed the back of his neck, "I'll see you in the morning."

Suzume chuckled. Seeing her captain like this was refreshing. "I had a good time tonight, Kenpachi. Call me anytime you need to get out of one of Yachiru's dates." She waited long enough to see him give a small smile and opened her door, went inside, closed it and leaned against it. Damn that crush she had on him! Why did he have to kiss her like that? _Just keep playing it cool, _Suzume_. You can't let him know that you have a crush on him. You've kept it to yourself this last year, you can keep on keeping it to yourself!_ She fanned her face and went to go splash some cool water on her face and then get ready for bed.

On the other side of the door, Kenpachi let out a long sigh. It was so easy with her. Those other dates he had been forced on had been disasters. He felt so awkward around those women. Was he eating too vigorously? Was he supposed to offer some to the date? Coming from the 80th district didn't grant him too many social graces. He had picked some up along the way, but not to that extent. He was a little worried about the reputation he was getting with those women, but not enough to really care. He was the demon of Zaraki after all. What did they really expect? He had wanted to ask her out again or kiss her again, but didn't want to scare her off. Was she really interested in him, or had she just been nice? She did give him an out though. He could always say that Yachiru was trying to set him up on another date…. Zaraki rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he headed back to collect his gifts and head back to his rooms. He couldn't wait to start using the chest. He knew just where he was going to put it too.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning Kenpachi felt better than he had in a long time. It had really been a great birthday. He dressed quickly and grabbed his zanpakuto from it's new nighttime resting place on the chest's arms. As he walked to his office Yachiru jumped up to her favorite perch.

"Kenny, why didn't you tell me you had a date last night?"

"You didn't ask." He responded gruffly. "Why have you been trying to set me up on dates, anyway?" He didn't want to ask her if he wasn't enough for her anymore. The answer might hurt. She had been his everything for so long, it was odd that she wanted to bring someone else into their little family. _Yeah, I guess it is like a family. What did Suzume_ _say having a family was like? Worrying about each other when you weren't around, and knowing that regardless of what you did, you knew that there was someone out there that always had your back. Maybe I don't worry so much about Yachiru, but I know she'll always be there to have my back. Not that I need her to. But it's still nice to know._ Kenpachi mused to himself. He was so deep in thought that he almost missed Yachiru's response.

"I want you to be happy, Kenny. I've seen you look at women before and you should have one. Why haven't you just taken one you like? They should be happy to be with you." She patted his face as she spoke.

"Yachiru, that's not how relationships between guys and girls are made. You can't keep on throwing unwilling woman at me and expect that we're both going to be happy about it."

"But why not?"

Kenpachi sighed. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. How to explain….. "Why do you like one candy over another?"

Yachiru thought for a moment, "Because it tastes better!"

"Ok, in a way the taste attracts you to one candy over another. When you get older, you'll get a different kind of taste. You will find you like certain people over others. Not the way you do now, but…. You'll want to be around them as much as possible. Do you understand?"

"I think so. I like being around you all the time, but I don't like being around the snake." They both knew she was referring to the captain of the third division.

Zaraki considered and nodded, "For now, that will do. You may be surprised by this, Yachiru, but most women, don't find me to their taste. They may look at me the way you look at Gin."

"But…. You're Kenny! How could they not like you?"

Realizing that it might be some years before Yachiru understood that, he went with a simple, "I don't know."

Soon they arrived at the squad 11 office. Suzume was already there going through paperwork and sorting what needed to be done quicker and what could wait a while. Curious, he went to the desk to see if there was any way to tell who made it. Suzume guessed what he was looking for. She had checked earlier and knew where to tell him to look.

"My father's mark is at the middle where you're legs go, top left corner of the left side."

Kenpachi quickly found the mark. It looked like it had been branded into the wood. It was a very plain marking. Just a circle with Issada in the middle. He wondered why he had never noticed it before.

Suzume got up and walked over to the desk carrying two stacks of paper. She handed a smaller stack to her captain, "These need to get done today." She put the larger stack at the corner of his desk, "And this stack, if you have time today, are in order of importance."

Still sitting on Kenpachi's shoulder Yachiru waved and said excitedly, "Did you and Kenny have a good time last night?"

Suzume smiled at her lieutenant, "I think we did."

"When are you two gunna go out again?"

"I don't know. He hasn't asked me yet and it was pretty late when the party ended." Suzume replied, thinking fast, and giving a quick wide eyed look to her captain. He was reminded of that deer and predator look she had worn last night after he had kissed her. _Was this what she's like all the time? I've had so little interaction with her. _ Suzume thought to herself.

Kenpachi's lips quirked up into a small smile and decided to be the one to rescue his 17th seat this time, "Yachiru, hush. Give the girl a chance to even decide if she wants a second date. Besides, going out again is not a thing for you to be asking, it's for me. Now shoo." He lifted her off his shoulder and pushed her lightly towards the door. Yachiru laughed and ran out the door like it was a game. And likely, to her, it was. Turning his attention to his subordinate, he said sheepishly, "Sorry about that. I tried to explain to her on the way here, but I think she's a little young yet." He paused, "Would you like to go out again?"

"You mean on a real date?"

"Last night wasn't a real date for you?" He asked with a slight frown.

"That's not what I meant." Suzume said hurriedly. Kenpachi just looked at her with an eyebrow ridge raised. "Last night was spur of the moment. I meant like a real date with someone you are trying to….see if ….they are….interested in you that way and….you're interested in them that way too." Her words trailed off, getting softer as she went and finally losing steam at the end as he just stared at her.

Kenpachi rested his elbows on the desk and rested his chin in his hands, "Do you want to find this out with me?"

Suzume nodded, afraid to speak.

"Then it's settled. I am asking you on a real date."

She smiled shyly, "tonight?"

"After training. Say around 7?"

Suzume nodded again, not trusting herself to speak much quite yet.

Chuckling to himself, he said, "I see we're going to need some sake tonight then."

Blushing, Suzume grabbed the paperwork that had been completed late yesterday and hurried out of the office.

_Did she have a crush on me? Nah, she couldn't have. _ The thought made him laugh a little out loud. _I need to remember to ask her about that scar on her left cheek. How odd that she would have one on the same side of her face as mine. Not nearly so large, maybe an inch or so and along her cheek bone, but still. Maybe it's a good story. I've never noticed it before until she blushed. _ He continued to muse about her for a while, wondering at his good luck, or at least he hoped it was good luck and then went back to working on the stack of papers Suzume had been nice enough to go through for him.

The working day was over and Kenpachi stretched as he got out of the chair he'd been cooped up in and turned around. Looking from the office window, he watched as Suzume headed to the squad's weight room. That was smart of her. In order to be able to handle that scythe for longer in a fight, she would need to get physically stronger too. He decided to see who he could go down and fight with. Maybe get a little exercise before the date tonight.

It was close to 7 and Kenpachi had already grabbed a bath. The fights had been good earlier and he had worked up quite a sweat. His hair was down and the bells had been removed. It always felt a little odd at night when his hair was out of it's usual spikes. He still kept the eye patch on though. Keeping his immense spiritual pressure under control when the eye patch was off was not the easiest thing in the world to do. It's odd, he didn't remember having so much trouble when he still traveled in the outer districts. Must just be out of practice. He shrugged the thoughts away and knocked at his 17th seat's door. The door opened and Suzume walked out wearing clothing that was similar to what the rest of the souls in the Soul Society wore. It was well made and in good condition. The yellow was a good color on her and it had green and ivy leaves climbing up the sleeves. He was just wearing his normal uniform and captain's jacket. He hadn't really known if he should wear anything else and Yachiru hadn't been very helpful.

"You look nice." He finally got out.

"Thanks. I don't get to wear non uniform clothing often. Tonight was a good excuse and my mother would have yelled at me if she knew I had just worn my uniform."

They went to a restaurant and were able to get a somewhat private table. As soon as they sat down, Kenpachi ordered sake for them and they went to looking over the menus. When it arrived, he immediately poured her a cup and set it down in front of her. Suzume looked up a little startled as the cup was set down a little hard to get her attention. "Drink up. I want the Suzume I saw last night here." He smiled a little ruefully to show her that he didn't mean it as harshly as it probably sounded.

Suzume took that as a cue to stop holding herself so rigidly. She drank the small cup of sake quickly, but only sipped after that as Kenpachi would refill her cup when he saw it was empty. He was not trying to get her drunk, but he did want her to loosen up. They ate and talked. _It's so easy to be around her_, Kenpachi frequently thought to himself as they told each other funny stories. He eventually asked her about the scar on her cheek.

Her hand went up to the scar and Kenpachi thought she was trying to hide it. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up a bad memory."

Suzume smiled ruefully, "No, it's….." She dropped her hand and looked back up at her captain, "When I was still learning how to make furniture like my father, I was cutting out the pieces I would need for it with a saw. I don't know if you've ever worked with a saw, but the action of cutting out something causes a lot of friction and heat. If you are sawing a large piece, sometimes the metal of the saw will expand, causing the tool to get stuck in the wood. I know now that I just have to wait for the saw to cool and then everything is fine. Back then, I didn't. I tugged and tugged and the piece of wood I was working with cracked and the saw snapped back at me, hitting me in the face. My mother was so mad at me." She switched to a high falsetto voice, "Suzume! How could you ruin your pretty face like that? Why can't you just leave that manly work to your father and brothers? Why can't you just be my little girl?" Suzume gave a small laugh and switched to her normal speaking voice. "Mom hated it that her little girl ended up being just like her father and brothers. I think she wanted me to learn an instrument like she did, but I'm afraid that when it comes to that, I'm all thumbs. My hands looked like this since I was 10. Yours have been callused from the sword, mine are from wood working for so long. That didn't stop her from making me take singing lessons though" Suzume made a face like she had eaten something gross.

"You can sing?"

"Unfortunately."

"I think I would like to hear that one day."

Suzume laughed, "I'll think about it. But don't get your hopes up." Looking at his face, she decided to finally ask him about his scar. She had never asked anyone about it, she just assumed it came from some fight. "How about your scar?" She asked timidly.

Kenpachi put his hand up to his scar, running a finger down it. He barely even thought about it anymore. He barely even noticed it when he looked at himself in a mirror. "I'm sorry if I brought up a bad memory." Suzume looked down, afraid she had disrupted the pleasant atmosphere they had created over dinner.

He smiled, and explained about the Yachiru his Yachiru had been named after and how it had been the first time he had felt fear in battle and how he always wanted to fight people that could give him that thrill.

"Was your eye damaged at all?" Suzume had listened to the story attentively and had been at the edge of her seat the whole time. It was a rather interesting tale.

He shook his head, "No. The blade didn't cut through my entire eyelid, though I'm pretty sure she could have done it. Still hurt like hell though and there aren't too many healers in the outer districts."

When the bill arrived, Suzume snatched it up and quickly paid for their meals, surprising Kenpachi. "But… I was… Why did…. You didn't have to…."

Suzume put a finger to his lips to get him to stop. "Remember, I'm the stuck up merchant's kid from the inner districts." Kenpachi looked like he was trying to say something, "Hush. Look, my parents send me money every month that I never use except to buy more uniforms and wood. Maybe they think I have larger rooms and need to decorate or something. I don't know. The point is, don't worry about it. Buy something for Yachiru. She'll be happy that you were thinking of her while on a date." When she was sure he wouldn't try to protest any more, she removed her finger and smiled.

Kenpachi grabbed her hand as she moved it away from his lips and slowly moved her finger tips back to his lips and lightly kissed them. "Thank you. I really wasn't expecting that. Isn't the guy usually supposed to pay for these things?"

"That's a stupid rule. Who made that up?"

"Girls, I think." They both laughed at the joke.

They left and walked around the shops of the first district. Kenpachi bought Yachiru a bag of her favorite candy; poppy seeds surrounded in crystalized sugar. Suzume ended up over by a wood seller and bought a thick and long piece of wood that was about a littler thicker than her thigh and was as long as her arm. Kenpachi wouldn't let her carry it back, carrying it nonchalantly over his right shoulder.

"Why did you buy this?" He asked her, wiggling the post a little on his shoulder.

"I saw something in it that I want to bring out. I'm not sure what it is yet though."

Kenpachi sighed. Such a strange woman.

Eventually, he walked her back to her room. He set the post down and was thinking about how to go about kissing her goodnight when she asked him, "Would you like to come in for some tea?" Kenpachi smiled a small half smile and nodded. She opened the door and held it open for him. He carried the post inside and set it against a wall, not quite sure where to put it.

He felt rather large in this small room. He could see her bed from the doorway and looked away quickly. His eyes moved to the low table and the cushions that were around it. It looked solid enough. He wondered if she had brought it from home. Suzume set the teapot on the small stove and sat down at the table, waiting for the water to boil. Kenpachi sat down too and suddenly, the easy atmosphere seemed to fade away. They waited in an increasingly uncomfortable silence until the sound of the kettle whistling jolted them both out of their thoughts. Suzume laughed at the way she jumped and Kenpachi gave a sheepish grin.

Suzume got up to take care of pouring the tea and didn't see or hear Kenpachi get up. She turned around with the cups in hand and came face to chest with her captain. She gave a startled squeak. He carefully took the cups from her hands and set them on the counter. He then reached up to Suzume's face and leaned in for a kiss. He started light and slow and when Suzume opened her mouth a little, he let his own tongue enter her mouth, stroking her tongue with his. The kiss became a little rougher as they both began to get in to it. She put a hand up to his neck, occasionally stroking his jaw line. His large hand was on her neck as well, holding her face to his, sometimes using his thumb to stroke her ear. His other hand had moved to her waist, pulling her hips in towards his body, and sometimes letting his fingers trail up and down her spine. She kept her other hand against his chest sometimes rubbing her fingers against his collar bone.

They finally broke the kiss, Suzume far more out of breath then Kenpachi. "I've wanted to do that all night," Kenpachi confessed.

"I've wanted you to do that all night." Suzume also confessed.

He rubbed his thumb across her eyebrow, feeling her eye ridge. she had her eyes closed, enjoying the touch. "I need to get back. Yachiru will no doubt be up and waiting for me like a mother hen, and giving Ikkaku a headache." He reached down to the cup of tea that was now at a manageable temperature and drained the cup. "I'll see you tomorrow." He said as he set the cup down and left Suzume in a somewhat stupor.

Suzume smiled and nodded. "I'd say I'd be there with bells on, but that's more your thing." She retorted with a grin.

Kenpachi grinned at the joke, "Not tonight though."

"I saw. I kinda like it more down and without the bells. It's a nice change."

"I'll take that into consideration." And with that, he closed the door behind him. What was that woman doing to him? He had to admit, he was enjoying himself regardless. He quickly walked back to his rooms and just as he knew, Yachiru was waiting for him.


	4. Chapter 4

"How was your date, Kenny!?" She asked excitedly, diving into Kenpachi's arms. He tucked her into the crook of his elbow and tickled her making her laugh and kick her legs.

"It was good, Yachiru."

"Are you going to ask her out again?"

"Eventually. I don't want her to get sick of me, you know."

"Captain Zaraki, don't forget that it's Suzume's turn to come out with me and Yumichika for a field training exercise in three days."

"What districts are you planning on taking her to?" He asked his 3rd seat.

"There have been reports of hollows in the southern districts 70 through 80. The plan was to travel around and see what she can do."

"Hasn't there also been a sighting of a vasto lorde around there?"

Ikkaku thought for a moment, "I think so. I can take her elsewhere if you wish."

"No, I'll come too. It's been a while since I had a decent fight."

Yachiru waved her arms from Kenpachi's grasp, "And me! Don't forget me!"

"I wouldn't dream of it." Zaraki replied.

* * *

Back at Suzume's room, she was walking on clouds. The night had been perfect. She could still smell a little of his musk on her clothing, but it was dissipating quickly. She so wanted the night to continue with him. It was just so easy to talk to him. She had never expected that. She washed her face, got changed for bed and snuggled in. That night she dreamed of her captain.

_They were laying in her bed talking about flowers. She didn't understand why they were talking about flowers, but that was the way of dreams. Not everything always makes sense. His eye patch was off, but the eye was a different color. He leaned towards her, teeth elongating as he bit her neck and lapped up her blood. It didn't hurt and she was rubbing his back as he drank._

_The dream shifted and he was his normal self and he was on top of her kissing her and his hands roamed over her body. Her hands roamed down to his penis and he grabbed her hands and slammed them onto the bed above her head. "Never do that again." He hissed as he got up and left her._

_The dream shifted again and it had never happened, they just continued to kiss and touch each other but she never made another moved towards his penis._

The sunlight woke her up. Such strange dreams. She shook her head to get the images out of her head. She cleaned her mouth, got dressed, and headed up to the Captain's Office.

* * *

The day was half over and Suzume came back into the office to check for any more paperwork that had to go out or to help with any. Kenpachi had been showing her how to fill out some of the forms. He wasn't in his chair behind the desk. She looked around and realized he was sitting on the couch.

"Oh, there you are. Is there anymore paperwork?"

"I'm taking a break." He said, looking over his shoulder to see her. "Come sit down and take a break with me." He patted the couch next to him.

Suzume walked around the couch and sat down next to her captain. She decided that she needed to show him she could be relaxed around him outside of a date, so lifted his left arm and scooted in close to his side, laying her face against his side and laying his arm across her shoulders.

"Mmmm. I like this. Finally starting to relax around me without sake?" He teased.

"It's not easy, you know." She felt him shift, so she turned in to him and put her left hand on his chest and pulled up her legs. "At the end of the day, you're still my captain and the only captain that would allow me in their squad. I have reason to be nervous." She closed her eyes, enjoying his warmth, his scent, and his arm around her.

His arms snaked around her and pulled her on to his lap so that her right side was being pressed against his body, and his chin could rest on top of her head. Suzume, of course, gave out a startled squeak which made him chuckle into her hair. "If we somehow have a really bad breakup, I'll just keep you stationed in the world of the living for most of the time until we both calm down. How does that sound?" As he spoke, his lips were near her ear, speaking lowly and letting his lips brush her ear every now and then on purpose, watching as shivers would travel down her spine.

Suzume adjusted herself, putting her right arm more around Kenpachi's waist and back and her left hand against his chest. "That sounds fair. I accept." She smiled and snuggled in to his chest, breathing deeply the smell of his skin.

Zaraki smirked. At least now he knew why she stayed so stiff at work. She liked him but was also worried about being kicked out of the division should this go sour. He could respect that. He needed to tell her about the field training. _Was she…. Smelling him? Did he stink or something? No…. she's smiling. She is so strange! _ He cleared his throat and he could see that she opened her eyes and was looking up at him. "Tomorrow is our day off. The day after that is your turn to go out with Ikkaku and Yumichika to do some field training. They are taking you out to hunt for hollows and to also get you experience in being around some of the outer districts. It will be your job to take out the hollows you find there. The 3rd and 5th seats are only there as your backup. There has also been reports of a vasto lorde in the area, so I've decided to tag along. It's about time I got my sword wet anyway.

"Many of the districts we'll be traveling through and working in don't like soul reapers, so keep your uniforms here. Make sure you can fit in. Your clothing should look older and well worn. Patches and stitches are good, as is a little dirt ground in to the fabric. Even some tears are good, just don't overdo it. Trust me, they can tell.

"We will be going to the southern districts 70 through 80. It's going to be warmer there this time of year, so dress appropriately." He continued to hold her, enjoying the feel of her body pressed against his. She felt solid, nothing like the dreams he'd had of her last night. He would start to kiss her roughly and she would bleed and bruise. Or he would get on top of her to have sex with her, but would crush her or she'd shatter like pottery. He could feel her muscles beneath her clothing as lightly rubbed her leg or arm. Definitely solid and wouldn't break. He hoped.

"Do you need to buy any clothing for the trip?" He asked her.

"No, I have a few things that should work. I'll make a few tears and then stitch them up. Maybe wash them a few times so the stitching doesn't look too new." She had already heard her captain give these directions to other members and had already contemplated what to do when it was her turn. She had a few old favorites that her mom had wanted her to throw away before being assigned to the 11th division, but she had stubbornly hid them and kept them with her.

He leaned down and kissed her, keeping it from getting too intense. He didn't want to surprise her with an erection and he didn't want to give in to his more carnal desires. At least not yet. When he broke the kiss, his voice was low and rumbly when he said to her, "Take the rest of the day off. What you plan may take longer than you think. I'll be by tomorrow to help you if you need it." He gave her another kiss, but this one just a quick peck on the lips.

Suzume got up from his lap, turned to face him again and leaned in, finally being the one to initiate a kiss. It was slow and sweet and far too quick for Kenpachi's tastes, but he was glad he was finally getting to see her with some of her walls down. She ended the kiss with another quick peck, and straightened. "I'll see you tomorrow then." She gave him a smile and left the office, going to her own room to get started.

* * *

Back in her rooms, Suzume pulled out the two outfits in question. _Wow, no wonder my mom wanted me to get rid of these. I think they are going to be just a hair too small and…. Is that a wear hole up by the collar? And another at the end of the sleeve? Why had I held on to these? Oh yeah, I remember, because mom was so dead set on throwing them away. The hems on these are going to be a little short, just enough to look like I grew a little and couldn't' afford to get new clothing. They're really worn too. I remember these clothes being a lot thicker. _ Suzume tried them both on to make sure they wouldn't be too bad. Her assessments had been correct. Just a little short, but not enough to make it look like she was trying too hard. She moved around, making sure that when she used her zanpakuto, she didn't want to end up tearing her clothing just by moving. She was in luck, she had lost fat and built muscle since she had last worn these, so the movement wasn't bad. Sitting down was going to be interesting, the hem really was a little too short.

She changed into some normal clothing similar to what she wore on her date yesterday. She'd see what Kenpachi thought tomorrow. Her attention turned to the post she had bought yesterday. She set it on the table and pulled out her tools. For several hours she just stared at it and ran her fingers over it. She eventually began carving and worked long into the night, going to bed in the early hours of the morning. She woke up late and, grabbed a bath, and headed back to her room to work on the post some more.

Kenpachi stopped by after lunch which had passed Suzume by without her noticing it. He knocked at her door and opened it when he heard her call out, "Come on in." She didn't even look up when he entered. He had never seen her work before. It was a little like she was possessed. It looked like she was working on it so that she could maximize the width of the post. Corner to opposite corner. She had flattened it out a little and she had removed all of the edges. After a little bit, she flipped it over and worked on that side.

"Have you even eaten anything today?"

"Hmmm?" Suzume looked up and blinked a few times. "Food? Um, no. I guess I haven't." She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "I guess I got a little lost."

Kenpachi slowly shook his head in exasperation and looked around her tiny kitchen to see if he could make something for her. He put a pot on to boil some rice and cut up some meat and vegetables and put them in the wok, stirring them both as needed. He plated the food and brought it over to his very odd 17th seat who was already absorbed in her work. Was that a snake she was carving? Two snakes? Hard to tell.

He waited until the carving tool was completely off the wood before grabbing her hand and removing the tool from it and handing her a pair of chopsticks. "Eat. Now." He moved the former post out of the way and tried to see what she was making out of it. It sort of looked like a pair of snakes loosely wrapped around a staff. What a strange thing to make.

With a mouth half full, Suzume explained, "It's a caduceus. It's a symbol humans use to show a medical facility. I figured I'd hold on to it until Captain Unohana's birthday comes up."

"I'm sure it will perfect. Did you find something to wear?" Suzume's mouth was full, so she just nodded and pointed to her bedroom. Kenpachi felt a flush creeping up his face as he looked in the direction of her bedroom. He went into her room and looked at the two outfits on the bed. She had done really well. They looked like they might be a little small though. He picked them up and brought them back out to Suzume. "They look good. Let me see them on you." He tossed them to her and sat down at the table, lounging lazily.

"I suppose." Suzume went into her room and closed the door. She came out a little while later in the first outfit. It was just a little short in the bottom hem. It seemed to fit everywhere else. With a grin, he lifted a finger and made the motion for her to turn around. She smiled and did as he asked. She turned back to him and he motioned her over with the same finger.

Suzume walked over to her captain and he pulled her down on to his lap. He lifted her hips so that she was straddling his legs. The position caused the hem of her outfit to left further. His hands were on her hips and feeling her skin beneath the thin fabric. He could feel himself starting to get an erection. Maybe this was a bad idea. Suzume could feel him stirring. She decided to see if he was thinking about her in the same way she had been thinking about him and hope it didn't end up like that one dream. She leaned in and began to kiss his neck, nibbling and sucking. Kenpachi groaned in pleasure. He rubbed her side, bringing his hand up to a breast, cupping it at first and then rubbing his thumb across her nipple, feeling it get hard under the thin fabric.

Suzume inhaled sharply in pleasure. He grabbed her face and began kissing her roughly, finally kissing her how he'd been wanting to. He moved his way down to her neck being careful not to bruise it, but still nibbling and sucking all the same. "Are you sure about this, Suzume? We don't have to if you're not ready for this." He breathed into her ear, flicking his tongue on the edge of her ear. Suzume groaned in pleasure.

Suzume leaned her head against his, biting her lip. Was this too soon? It's not like she'd had a ton of experience. This wouldn't be her first time, but she was nervous none the less.

Kenpachi pulled back, "Suzume, this isn't…..I'm not the…." He took a deep breath, "Are you a virgin?"

She looked up sharply, surprised he would ask, "No." she said slowly.

Kenpachi looked at her seeing if he could tell whether or not she was lying. Seeing the look, Suzume explained, "There was a guy at the soul reaper academy. We had sex a couple times, but the relationship ended when he got kicked out."

He nodded, and then very seriously asked, "Are you ready to have sex with me? It's ok if you're not. There's no need to rush."

"I'm ready, but, could we go slowly? At least at first?"

Kenpachi nodded and lifted her up and took her to her bedroom. As she wanted, they went slowly. He undressed her and then himself. They kissed for a while and he slowly brought his hand down her body, stopping a little at her breasts to squeeze lightly and then down to her lower lips. She was wet, but knowing that he was a little larger than most men, he used his fingers first, running his fingers around the edge of her opening and flicking her clit. He enjoyed the little gasps and moans that escaped her lips. He slowly entered her with his fingers and he could tell she was going to be pretty tight.

"I think I'm going to have to work you to orgasm first. I wasn't expecting this so I don't have anything with me to help me enter you except your own fluids."

"I understand," she said pulling him in for a kiss as his fingers began working her. He used the noises she was making to see whether he should continue a thing or stop it. Eventually he could start feeling her bucking against his hand and her inner muscles began to clench and unclench quickly. She was very odd. She didn't cry out with the orgasm. It was like she held it all in. She breathed heavily for a little while and he could feel her inner muscles give occasional spasms.

He let her body relax a little bit as he used some of her natural lubrication on himself. It was still going to be a little tight, but if he went slowly enough, she should be alright. "Are you ready for some more?" Suzume nodded bringing a hand up to his face and pulling him down towards her. He got on top and positioned himself and slowly entered her. There was going to be just enough lubrication for this. If he was not careful, she would end up walking funny during the field exercise tomorrow.

He was finally in all the way and only groans of pleasure from her. He decided to do short rocking thrusts that didn't require him to pull too far out. She quickly grabbed his mouth with hers and began kissing him fiercely, groaning into his mouth as her hips started bucking underneath him. The clenching was stronger this time and he could feel other muscles begin to flutter against his penis. He had not intentioned to cum so quickly, but he became lost in those flutters. Grunting like he had been punched in the stomach, he came with her. He continued to lean on his elbows, trying to keep most of his weight off of her, but wanting to stay in that position, feeling the small spasms her inner muscles gave after her orgasms. Her whole body seemed to shake a little with each one.

"I could get used to this," Zaraki rumbled in her ear.

"Me too, Kenpachi. Me too."

"Next time I'll make sure to have something with me. It's not that I don't enjoy making you cum with my fingers, I just enjoy it so much more when my dick is in you when you're cumming." He pulled out of her and she made a sad noise, "As much as I would enjoy another round with you, let's not overdue it. I don't want to hurt you by accident because we didn't take our time. I've accidently torn a woman down there. It was not pleasant for either of us." Suzume looked at him in horror at the thought of being torn. "I hear that even small tears hurt, so let's play it safe." He got up from the bed and left the room. Soon water could be heard in the small bathroom.

He exited a short time later using a wet cloth on himself. "You should get cleaned up and dressed before I can't control myself any longer." He tossed another wet cloth at her, grabbed his clothing and left the bedroom. Suzume could hear some more running water as he rinsed out the cloth he had been using.

Suzume cleaned herself up and dressed in her normal uniform. When she entered her dining and living area, Kenpachi was already dressed and seated at the low table. He used his hand to brush some of the wood pieces into his other hand, "Your place is a mess." His lips quirked up in a small smile.

She went into her bathroom and rinsed her cloth out as well. She saw his cloth laying over the sink's rim to dry and she did the same with her cloth. "Yeah, it gets this way when I'm working on a carving. It was worse when I was working on your chest because it was sawdust everywhere." She grabbed the broom and dustpan from where she kept them behind the door of the bathroom and started sweeping up all the bits of wood.

He watched her movements and her muscles play beneath her uniform. Too bad she wasn't wearing one of those outfits she had been trying on for him. Having sex with her had been nice. The feel of her inner muscles fluttering against him had been new. He had felt other woman orgasm, but usually it was just the tightening and loosening that he felt. He had to admit, it had caught him by surprise or they would still be in there moaning into each other's ears. Her body was very firm. He liked that about her. Very few scars too, but that just meant she hadn't been in many fights.

There were a few of those wood blocks near the table, so he picked one up and turned it over in his hands.

"Do you see anything in the wood?" Suzume asked him gently as she sat next to him. He shook his head.

"I don't know what you mean when you say that." He admitted.

"I like to find a place where you can really see the grain of the wood." She took the block from his hands and turned it to a face that was especially dark with wood grain. "And then I stare that the grain and see if there's a pattern in it. Sometimes I only see part of the shape and I find that as I start cutting into the wood and removing the parts that aren't part of the shape, the rest of the form emerges."

"I think I may have to leave the wood carving to you, love." She startled at that word. Love. It was a nice easy term of endearment. He used it so easily. Had he used it with other woman? She mentally shook herself. Why should that matter if he had or not. He was with her now, and that's all that mattered. He put an arm around her and pulled her close for a hug. She curled into him and breathed in deeply, enjoying the scent of his skin. "Um…. Are you sniffing me?" He finally asked.

"I can't help it. I like the smell of your skin."

He raised his face to the ceiling, shook his head slowly and thought to himself, _definitely an odd one. At least she had stopped._ He pulled her onto his lap as he had her yesterday. She tucked her face into the crook of his neck where it met his shoulders. They sat like this for a long time, enjoying each other's presence until it was time for dinner. They headed down to the squad dining hall and sat with Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Yachiru. Ikkaku went over what they would be doing tomorrow and what she would need to bring with her for the trip while they all ate.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day Suzume dressed in one of the worn out outfits and put the other in her bag along with the other things Ikkaku had told her to bring. Items to dress a wound, food for five days in the form of travel rations, some cash just in case, and a couple bottles of water. He had said not to worry too much about water as every village had at least 1 working well they could refill from. She had also added a small, light blanket to the pack. She found that she had a hard time sleeping without something covering her at night.

He had also suggested that she not wear her zampakuto on her waist like normal as it wasn't common for women to wear swords. He had suggested that she instead strap it to her pack. It would still be visible, but it wouldn't raise as many eyebrows. She did as he suggested and headed out to the meeting place at the gate to the southern districts. She was the first to arrive and so leaned against a wall while she waited. It was odd to not have her zampakuto at her hip like normal.

As least she could still hear her sword. She had been to his world a few times. She wasn't fond of it. His world was decorated in skulls and skeletons. Sitting at a table with him that was made out of arm and leg bones for the table top was unsettling. He was nice though, even if he was a skeleton himself who never let her see his face properly. It was always hooded and cast in shadow, but she had seen flashes of the white bone, so knew it was a fleshless skull that he had for a face. His hands were usually exposed and she could see that they were only bones. He looked like the images of the Grim Reaper humans talked about.

_Are you worried?_ She heard him ask in her mind.

_No. A little anxious, but I always get anxious before trying something new. You know me._ She replied.

_Do you love him?_

She bit her lip, knowing she couldn't lie to her zampakuto's spirit. _I'm definitely getting there. _

_Does that scare you?_

_No, just makes me anxious and nervous. I've never been in love before. Is this how it feels?_

She could hear the spirit laugh at her. _How would I know? By the way, I heard that comment you made a few weeks ago. You aren't disappointing me. I'm just excited for you to learn more of me. Keep up your training and I'll soon be revealing more of myself to you._

Suzume smiled as the communication ended. It was good to know that the spirit was pleased with her progress. Her thoughts were interrupted as the rest of the group came into view. Kenpachi looked much as he did when they went on their date with his hair down and no bells on. When they reached her, Ikkaku looked her over, nodded and said, "Let's head out." He set a ground eating pace and they all fell into their own rhythms.

Suzume noticed that her captain still wore his eye patch. She knew he could see fine out of that eye and knew why he wore it. She just wondered if she would ever see him without it. The districts flashed by and she had a moment of sadness when they passed the seventh. It would have been nice to see her parents again. The pace Ikkaku set them had them close to the 40th district just as night was approaching. He brought them to a walk as he looked for a good place to set camp for the night. Suzume noticed that she was the only one breathing hard. She would have to work on that.

Yumichika pointed out a spot, "There. That's where we camped last time." Ikkiku nodded and headed for the spot the 5th seat had pointed out. They set up camp and Suzume went looking for some wood as she had been asked. She had put her zampakuto on her hip just in case, and Kenpachi gave her back an approving nod.

A little while later, she came back with an armload and set it down in the center of the small clearing they were in. Ikkaku stopped her from going back for more, "Yumichika and Captain Zaraki are also grabbing wood. Take a seat and relax." Suzume nodded and sat down. They waited for the others to come back.

They eventually heard Yumichika saying, "No captain, it's this way."

"Are you sure?" Was the gruff reply.

"Positive."

Suzume and Ikkaku stifled laughs at their captain's lack of any kind of a sense of direction. Soon the missing members were walking into view; stacks of wood in their arms. When everyone was back, Ikkaku showed Suzume how to make a fire as the nights still could get a little cool and Yumichika insisted on warm food. He also explained that a fire would keep some predators away during the night. They all grabbed travel rations from their bags and munched quietly. They also set up a watch with Suzume as first, Kenpachi second, Ikkaku third, and Yumichika last. Yachiru they left out of the lineup, knowing it wouldn't do any good to have her take a watch.

Suzume watched as the guys slept, making sure to keep the fire going. When her two hours were up, she woke up Kenpachi and was startled when his reaction was to have a sword at her throat. "Mmffhh, sorry love. Old habits in the outer districts die hard." He sheathed the weapon, "I'm up now. Go ahead and get to sleep."

_Was he sleeping with the bare blade? I didn't even see him draw his zampakuto!_ Suzume went to where her pack was and pulled out the blanket she had brought and settled down to sleep.

_She's sleeping with a blanket in this heat? Is she crazy? Such an odd woman. At least she is never boring._ He mused to himself, watching her as she started to sleep.

The next morning Suzume was surprised to find and arm around her waist and a body at her back. Was she sleeping on someone's arm? She looked down and realized the arm could only belong to Kenpachi. He must have come over after his watch was done. She rolled over to face him and the movement caused him to snap his eye open. She noticed that he was still wearing the eye patch. She reached up and touched it lightly, "You even sleep with it?" He nodded and explained that he can't control his spiritual pressure when he sleeps so keeping it on at night meant that it didn't suddenly raise too high when he dreamed. Suzume nodded and gave out a small, "Oh."

"Is there something wrong?" he mumbled to her.

She shook her head, "Just curious what you look like without it. I don't think I've ever seen it."

He nodded. He used one arm to hold her close, and the other to take the eye patch off. As always happened when he took it off, the sudden increase was intense. He quickly held onto her with his other arm as well, knowing she would want to flee with the sudden increase. He started reigning it in. He watched her expression changed from amusement to downright fear and then slowly to pure awe.

When her heartbeat went back to normal she hesitantly reached back up to touch the skin around the eye that had been hidden. "I like you without the eye patch, but is it always like that when you take it off?" He nodded. "I wanted to run away."

"I know. I could feel your muscles tighten. At least you didn't faint."

"Yay! You're up Kenny!" A pink blur was suddenly jumping on his side.

He let out an "Ooompf!" And quickly moved onto his back, and reclaimed his arm from under Suzume's head. Yachiru jumped on his stomach a few times before he grabbed her and pinned her to tickle her.

Suzume sat up to watch the unexpected rough housing. "Is this normal for you two?" She watched as Yachiru wiggled out of his grasp and tackled him "pinning" him.

"Most mornings start this way." He replied while Yachiru again went to jumping on his stomach. "Stop that, Yachiru. I'm not a trampoline, you know." She stopped and snuggled into his chest as he put the eye patch back on.

"Are we gunna kill hollows today?" Yachiru asked with some excitement.

"No. She's going to kill hollows and we get to watch. This is her training exercise after all." He replied, pointing to Suzume as he spoke.

"Aww!" Yachiru frowned, "But I like watching _you_ fight, Kenny."

"You might, Yachiru." Yumichika replied as he made his breakfast, "There's supposed to be a vasto lorde around here somewhere. If we encounter it, the captain has already claimed it."

* * *

For the next two days they wandered around the more wild places between the districts and encountered several low to mid-level hollows. Suzume had only needed help when she had been surprised by a group of four and even then, they only helped her as much as she needed. No more and no less. They were all rather pleased with her progress and the way she used her shikai. The scythe seemed to be made for this kind of fighting.

They were on their way back when Yachiru pouted, "I want to go swimming!"

"I could use a good soak, too." Suzume chimed in.

The guys rolled their eyes as the girls ganged up on them, "Isn't there a lake around here, Ikkaku?" Yumichika asked, deciding that feeling clean again would be nice.

Ikkaku looked around, getting his bearings, "It should be over that way. About a mile or so." He pointed. Kenpachi nodded and started heading that way to the delight of Yachiru who swung from one of his arms before settling onto his shoulder.

Eventually the lake came into view and Yachiru ran ahead. Silently, Suzume's zampakuto screamed out a warning and she flash stepped to the lieutenant who had already stepped into the water. "No! Get out of there, Yachiru!" She screamed. She grabbed her around the waist and threw her towards her captain as a large hollow erupted from beneath the water's surface. It had the look of a large octopus, but the mouth and head were different. The head was wider and didn't look very gelatinous. It actually did have a face and instead of the usual beak, the mouth was large and the teeth had the look of a shark's with multiple rows. Before anyone had time to think, it's tentacles were wrapped around Suzume's chest and arms and lifting her towards it's mouth filled with razor sharp teeth. She tried to get free, but her sword and pack were back at the shore. She had dropped them when she ran to Yachiru. As she struggled to get free, the tentacle holding her started to squeeze. As her ribs started breaking under the strain she screamed out and eventually fell unconscious.

Meanwhile, Kenpachi had caught his adopted daughter and handed her off to his subordinates. This was the vasto lorde they had heard about. He could feel it's spiritual pressure. _She saved Yachiru._ Was all he could think as he leapt at the hollow. He sliced through the tentacle holding Suzume as Ikkaku flash stepped to catch her and get her back to shore. He unwrapped the tentacle from the girl as gently as he could, noticing that it was like an octopus' tentacle. Every inch that he pulled off left round bruises. She coughed weakly, blood trickling from her lips. Her eyes fluttered open and she groaned in pain.

"Hurry up, captain! She's bleeding internally!" Yumichika called out to Zaraki.

With a last slash, the hollow screamed it's distress and before it could dissipate, he used it to springboard him back to shore. He quickly sheathed his weapon and knelt down next to Ikkaku. He lightly ran his hands along Suzume's ribs trying to be careful to not hurt her any further. "Feels like at least 3 broken ribs." He checked her arms as one looked like it was in an odd position. "Broken arm too." More blood trickled from her mouth. "We need to get her to Unuhana. Yumichika, run ahead, see if she can meet us halfway." He gathered Suzume carefully in his arms, finding a way to hold her without causing her too much pain. "Ikkaku, lead the way."

Kenpachi ran behind Ikkaku, sometimes overtaking him and causing Ikkaku to flash step several times to get ahead of his captain. Every now and then a whimper of pain could be heard from Suzume. He tried his best to keep his movements smooth. "Stay with me, love. We'll get you to Unuhana. Remember, you're not allowed to die until I hear you sing." He wasn't really paying attention to what he was saying, he just wanted to keep her mind here and off of her pain as much as possible.

Yumichika and Captain Unuhana met them just outside of the 4th district. They grabbed a room at the inn so that they would have a place to work and then Unuhana shooed everyone out of the room once Kenpachi laid her on the bed.

It was an hour later when Unuhana came out of the room. She sat down at one of the tables at the tavern part of the inn with the men of the 11th division. Kenpachi looked at her inquisitively, trying to say with his eyes what he wanted to say with his lips. "She's healed. She's going to still be a little sore, but I was able to heal her broken bones. One of the broken ribs was just barely piercing her lung. She may continue to cough up some left over blood, but the internal wound is healed. She's going to be unconscious for a while though. All that energy to heal her came from her. I was just the facilitator." She fixed each of them with a stern stare, "How did she get into that condition."

Ikkaku explained and as he did, Kenpachi was lost in his own thoughts. _She knew there was something in the water. How did she know? Yachiru wasn't even into the water yet and she was already running towards her. How did.._

"…she know, Ikkaku." Unuhana asked interrupting Kenpachi's thoughts. Voicing aloud what he had been thinking. The three men shook their heads and Yachiru, completely out of character, looked forlornly at her hands on her lap. Seeing his Yachiru looking so sad, he scooped her up and held her close. She grabbed a hold of his shirt and buried her face in it. He stroked her back.

"Can I go see her?" Kenpachi asked.

Unuhana nodded, "But don't wake her up. She's going to need her rest." He nodded and with Yachiru in his arms, went up to the room.

He sat down on the edge of the bed. The bruises from the tentacle were still there. _I guess she only healed the bones and lung. I wonder why._ Her arms were laying outside of the sheet so he picked one of them up. At his touch, she stirred, cracking open an eye. She smiled a little and gave his hand a squeeze but was quickly unconscious again.

Unuhana opened the door and stepped inside. "Good. You didn't wake her up. Let's get her back to squad 4 so I can keep an eye on her."

"Why didn't you heal the bruises too?"

"Her body was only able to take so much healing. Had I continued healing, she would have gone into shock. It will be better for her to heal the rest of the way naturally."

He nodded and picked the girl up and then followed Captain Unuhana down to collect his men. They paid for the room and were soon back in the 4th division.

* * *

It was a few days later when Suzume awoke to find herself in hospital clothing and in a hospital bed, IV running to her arm and her captain seated at a small desk next to her filling out paperwork. "Am I still dreaming or are you really doing paperwork here?" She rubbed her face.

He quickly got up and moved the desk out of the way so he could be closer to the bed. "They just care that it gets done. They don't care where I actually do it. Besides, if someone needs me, I left a note on the office door." He rubbed her eyebrow ridge, "How are you doing?"

"A little tired. What happened? Last thing I remember is throwing Yachiru at you. Did you catch her?" She replied drowsily.

"I did. It was the vasto lorde we had been hearing about. It broke several of your ribs and your arm. How did you know it was there?"

She thought how to explain it, "My zampakuto spirit knows death when he feels it. The area was too still and he sent me a warning and I didn't think about it. He's warned me about things like that before."

Kenpachi nodded in understanding. At least that explained how she had known. "While I'm glad you're awake, if you're still tired, go back to sleep. I'll still be here." It was then that she realized that in addition to the desk in the room, there was also a low cot against the wall.

She turned on to her side so she could face him, closed her eyes and sleep was quick to claim her. He continued to stroke her face for a while before going back to the makeshift desk and the never ending paperwork. A little while later, one of the officers of the 4th squad came in with some lunch for the large captain and inquired after his subordinate.

"She woke up for a little while and then went back to sleep." He replied, not looking up at the 4th squad member. He pointed to a small stack of paperwork, "These are for your captain. She asked me to fill them out for the stay."

The officer was a little intimidated, so grabbed the paperwork even though it wasn't his job and removed the IV from the girls' arm. When Captain Zaraki looked up at him when he had done it, he quickly stammered out, "With her having regained consciousness, even for a little while, we know that she'll wake up when she's hungry and don't have to worry about her loosing vitality." The captain of the 11th nodded and went back to the paperwork in front of him. The officer let out a quick sigh, glad that the scary captain was no longer glaring at him and quickly left the room.

* * *

It was night when she awoke again with a start, quickly sitting up breathing hard. She heard the squeak and groan of the cot and soon felt Kenpachi sitting down on her bed, holding her close. "Are you ok?" he asked into her hair. He could feel her nod as she snuggled into his arms and chest. "Bad dream?" He again felt her nod. "Did you want to talk about it?" He could feel her shifting.

"It's dissipated. I think I was remembering that hollow. I remember feeling like I was being squeezed again. And the teeth." He felt her shudder. "But the details of the dream are gone. Can you sleep in this bed with me tonight?"

"This bed is rather small. The best we could do is if I slept on my back with you on top of me. I'm not sure how comfortable that will be for you. But I'm willing to try if you want."

"I'd like that."

They maneuvered and finally found a comfortable enough position for her and they both fell back asleep, him waiting to fall asleep until he heard her breathing even out.

Captain Unuhana came into the room in the morning while they still slept to check on her patient. Zaraki cracked open his eye at the door opening and she saw it. "Please tell me you two did not have sex in her weakened condition." She hissed at him angrily trying not to wake the girl up.

Just as softly he replied, "Do you think I'm that stupid? She woke up with a nightmare and asked me to share the bed with her, so I did. I have to admit, it was more comfortable then that cot." He readjusted the pillow and closed his eye, seeing if he could get a little more sleep.

"See if you can get some food in her when she wakes up." He nodded with his eyes still closed and heard the captain leave shortly after.

Another hour or two later, he felt her stirring on his chest, "Good morning, love. How are you feeling?"

"A little hungry." She replied, lifting herself off his chest and groaning a little at the soreness of her torso. He adjusted her and sat up with her so that she didn't have to do any of the work of sitting up.

"Easy, love. Your body took quite the beating, so don't overdo it." He gave her a quick kiss on the temple. On the makeshift desk was two plates of food. One that held more fruits and other light foods and one that held more meats and other heavier foods. He got up and grabbed the desk and brought it over to the side of the bed so they would have something to eat off of. "Think you can feed yourself, or do you want help." He asked her with a rueful grin.

"I think I can manage. I'm guessing the fruit is for me?"

"Yeah, they said only lighter foods for you today."

"Probably for the best. Your food looks like it's too much work."

"It's only some ham, bacon, and a bowl of oatmeal."

Suzume groaned in pain and grabbed her side as she moved into a better sitting position.

"Unuhana said she didn't heal you fully because you would have gone into shock. She was able to heal the bones and your lung, but had to leave the rest. You're going to be sore for a while." Suzume nodded at his words. She still felt a little weak so she leaned against his side as she slowly ate pieces of fruit. It didn't take long to feel full and sleepy again. He laid her back in the bed and moved the desk so that he could keep an eye on her while she slept and he did paperwork.


	6. Chapter 6

It was the next day when she felt well enough to walk shakily around the room and she was cleared to go back to her squad the next day. Kenpachi gave her the next few days off to fully recover and visited her after lunch when he would normally train. The second day when he visited he found her at her table working on the caduceus. The shape had become much more refined and the holes where the snakes didn't touch each other or the staff had been hollowed out

"You look like you're feeling better today." He said as he walked in. As he had been doing, he had brought her something to eat. Most of yesterday she had stayed in bed, so it was good to see her up.

"I tried to go to the weight room today, but Ikkaku shooed me out."

"Tomorrow will be soon enough. He's just worried about you." Suzume nodded and set aside her tools and took the plate he was holding out to her. She dug in, giving him her thanks around a mouthful of food. "Are you still sore?" He asked her as he watched her eat.

Her mouth was too full to answer so she held up her fingers to indicate a little and then rubbed her ribs to show him where. The bruises had faded and would likely be gone by tomorrow he was glad to see. The end of the tentacle had crossed her torso and had stopped around her left collarbone. They had been the only bruises he had seen on her and her top was just open enough to show that they were almost gone.

"I don't think I ever thanked you for saving Yachiru. I don't know that her little body would have been able to take the punishment."

"Don't worry about it. Any of you would have done the same if you'd known." She replied, leaning over and putting one of her hands on one of his. "Please don't beat yourself up about it."

He smiled and picked up the piece she had been working on for something to distract him, "I still have no idea how you saw this in that post." They both laughed.

Looking pensive, Suzume looked up at her lover, "Did you tell me that I couldn't die until I'd sung for you? Or was that one of my weird dreams?"

"I was trying to keep you conscious. But yes, that is one of the things I said while I ran with you in my arms." He raised an eyebrow ridge at her. She just smiled and nodded. "Thoughts?"

"Just that maybe I shouldn't sing for you then."

"Where you planning on it?"

"Nope. Just thought I'd tease you a bit." He sighed in exasperation. Such a strange woman.

* * *

The next day had them back in their normal routines. Mornings were spent in paperwork and afternoons were dedicated to training. That afternoon found Suzume in the weight room. Kenpachi decided to go as well to ensure she didn't overdo herself. She was still recuperating and, he was worried about her. Maybe he shouldn't, but he did all the same. Was this love?

Suzume moved from machine to machine, stopping if something hurt too much to continue or continuing if she could muscle through the pain. She had lied a little bit to her captain and lover. The muscles around her ribs and arm were still in a bit of pain. It was as if someone had used them for a punching bag, but she really didn't want Kenpachi to continue worrying about her. She knew that's why he was here in the weight room. She saw him flinch every time she drew in a sharp breath. At least he wasn't stopping her. After a few hours she had worked up a pleasant sweat and decided she had pushed herself enough, she got up and as she walked by her captain, she ran a hand across his shoulders and left for her room to get her toiletries and then to the bathhouse to soak and scrub.

Kenpachi was happy that she was trying to get back to normal and wasn't mad at him for monitoring her while she weight trained. He upped the amount of weight on the bar and enjoyed the strain against his muscles.


	7. Chapter 7

In the northern 50th district

The blade stabbed into the child. Her spiritual pressure flowing into the blade and into her assailant. "You had a decent amount, kid. I few more like you and I can take my revenge." The large man withdrew the blade and flicked away the blood. He was a large blonde man with a deep scar diagonally across his chest.

* * *

Zaraki waited until she showed no more signs of pain before asking her out again. They had stayed close, kissing every now and then, but he had kept such contact brief. He really wanted to have sex with her again, but didn't want to worry about hurting her more. It was another week before he was certain that she was back to normal. She had resumed training with Ikkaku in the afternoons.

It was as they were finishing a training session that he walked up to talk to his lover. "You're getting better."

Huffing from the recent exertion, Suzume sat down and looked up at her captain. "I think that I'll learn my second release soon. Tamashī no karitori has been showing me, but I think it's one of those things where I'm going to need to try it against an opponent. I think it takes spiritual pressure, but not permanently. It's hard to explain." She rubbed her forehead.

"When you think you have it, you can try it on me." He replied, "In the meantime, wanna go out tonight?"

Suzume had wondered what had been keeping the man so distant. Even his kisses has seemed restrained. She had worried that he had become disinterested, which was why she had redoubled her training efforts knowing he only respected strong people. "Of course. What took you so long?"

He sat down next to her and leaned in close to her ear. The things he breathed into her ear turned her face red and made her lower region ache with longing. "Now, how about you go get cleaned up so that I can make you sweat all over again." He breathed into her ear. When she left, he chuckled to himself and went off to bathe as well.

* * *

When he arrived at her quarters, the smells of good cooking reached his nose. As had become his custom, he no longer knocked at her door, but instead, just entered. She had her back to him as she was stirring some meat and vegetables in a wok. He came up behind her and hugged her from behind, arms loosely around her waist. She paused briefly and leaned back into him and placed her hands over his, pulling his arms in tighter. "The food will be ready in a few minutes, but you're going to have to let me move around or it's going to get burned." He gave her another quick squeeze, released her and sat down at the low table. She was soon plating the food and brought it over to the table. They ate quickly, looking forward to the dessert Kenpachi had already put on the menu for the evening. It wasn't long before he set down his chopsticks, tucked Suzume under an arm and walked into her bedroom with her.

Suzume giggled at how impatient he was being, but enjoyed it all the same. He pulled a small squeeze bottle from his pocket and set it on her nightstand. He then turned to her and said, "Why aren't you undressed yet?" and quickly removed her clothing. He kissed her roughly, running his hands over her tight body, rolling a nipple in one hand, gripping her ass firmly with the other. He finally breathed into her ear, "Why haven't you undressed me yet."

With much of the same fierceness, she pulled his clothing off, kissing his chest, gripping his erection and giving it a few pumps which caused him to gasp a little at her intensity. He practically tossed her onto the bed and he positioned himself so that he could continue to kiss her and get her ready for the kind of sex they were both hoping to have. He went to rub her clit a little and found her to be extremely ready for him. He inserted a pair of fingers into her opening and watched her body shudder in pleasure. His penis ached in anticipation. She was almost as tight as last time. He opened the squeeze bottle, squirted some of it's contents in his hand and stroked himself thoroughly so that he was sure there was enough that he wouldn't tear her.

He pressed himself against her opening and she shoved down, pushing him into her. They both gasped as he slid into her. Her inner muscles squeezed against him as he gave her a few long slow thrusts and then started to plunge into her with force, causing gasps and moans of pleasure to escape from Suzume as she bucked her hips in rhythm with him. He watched her for a little bit as her breasts bounced with his thrusts. It wasn't long before her body started shuddering with an orgasm.

Kenpachi slowed down to give her a little time to recover and enjoying the feel of the occasional spasms that she would have after the orgasm. She looked up to him, hands up on his collar bones. "Let me on top." He came in close for a kiss and rolled her over on top of him.

She sat upright on him, with her hands on his chest, his hands on her hips. She began slowly, getting her rhythm, squeezing with her inner muscles as she moved along his shaft and relaxing them as she moved back down. Kenpachi closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of her. He reached up and squeezed one of her breasts and then leaned up to suck on it causing her movements to shudder. He loved that feeling and played with the other breast. Her movements became more frantic as she orgasmed again. As she did, she reached behind her and started to rub and lightly squeeze his balls. The unexpected movement along with the fluttering he was feeling from her inner muscles caused him to cum.

It was about an hour later when they were both finally satisfied, Suzume laying against Kenpachi's chest. It wasn't often a woman could keep up with him in bed. He was glad she had, but he could tell she wouldn't be able to every time. It was enough for him though. She was so tired she was starting to doze on his chest. He kissed her temple and positioned her so that he could get up and clean himself off. The movement woke her up and she listened as the water was turned on. She got out of the bed and staggered to the bathroom, walking a little funny. Kenpachi chuckled as he saw her walk towards him and he tossed her a damp cloth to clean with.

Dressed again, Suzume grabbed the food on the table and used the wok to gently reheat it. When it was to temperature, she replated it and they finished the meal.

"I'm glad I was able to be a little rougher with you."

"Well, I'm not made out of glass, you know. And I liked it both ways. The gentle and the rough. I needed the rough tonight though. I think if you had tried to go gentle with me again we would still be in there trying to get this nice satisfied feeling I've got going on."

His lips lifted in a small satisfied smile. It was good hearing that your woman was satisfied every now and then.

All too soon, the evening was over and Kenpachi left to get back home. His mother hen of an adopted daughter was surprisingly asleep when he got home for which he was grateful. Turns out Ikkaku had utilized a well-timed sugar crash. He quickly undressed, and fell into bed, quite happy about how the night turned out.

The days fell into a bit of a rhythm. Realizing that she had never been over to his quarters, he starting inviting her over when he had Yachiru staying with someone else for the evening. She loved going over to his rooms. She always felt her rooms were too small for the large man.

* * *

It was about a week later when Suzume told her lover about finally getting the second release down on shikai.

Kenpachi was a little distracted. There were odd reports coming in from the Zaraki district about a man killing anyone with any kind of spiritual pressure. Killing in the Zaraki district wasn't unusual, but that the assailant was only going after people, even children one report read, with spiritual pressure was odd. "Hmmm?" He responded.

"You told me to let you know when I think I've gotten my second release on my shikai because I would need to practice on someone."

"I'm sorry, love. This report has me distracted. I don't hold love for the district I came from, but these reports are disturbing. Someone is only going after people with spiritual pressure. He's even going after children. There are similar reports from the 78th and 79th north districts. It's likely the same person and this is only what's been reported. The outer districts don't report anything. That there are twelve reports total are unusual. This means that there could be hundreds of unfiled reports. That they would even let us know about this means that they are becoming desperate." He rubbed the back of his neck were the muscles were starting to tighten. "I'll have to send someone out there soon to take care of this." He looked again at the reports spread out on the desk, "Maybe a team."

He looked back up at his girlfriend and saw the concern in her face and he sighed. "How about tomorrow? I need to write up some orders and talk to some of the guys. I want to enjoy our fight and today, I won't enjoy it."

Suzume smiled and nodded at him, "I understand. Here, let me work out those knots in your neck." She walked around behind him and started massaging his neck and shoulders, feeling them loosen under her hands.

"Oh, that feels good. Where did you learn that?" He said between grunts and soft moans of pleasure as the tension drained away.

"Before I was allowed to work in the shop, sometimes my dad or brothers would come home with their necks like this from holding themselves in one place for too long working. I found that if I rubbed their necks this way, it helped them to relax enough that they could work the next day."

"I wish I could have you do this every day. Oh, yeah, right there." He groaned as she found and kneaded an especially difficult knot.

"You shouldn't need this too often, but when I see you getting this bad, I have no problem rubbing out the stress."

When she finished a while later, Kenpachi quickly wrote up the orders to have his 20th seat take out a group of three men to investigate the reports and take care of the problem. He then went to the men in question and gave them their orders and sent them on their way.

* * *

The next day found Suzume and Kenpachi facing each other on the training grounds.

"Tamashī no karitori tells me that you should remove your eye patch for this, Kenpachi. He's insistent."

Kenpachi hesitated, but decided to humor the girl. He removed the eye patch and his spiritual pressure surged, causing the ground around him to crater. Suzume took a few steps back and then dug her feet in, determined to not run away like her mind was screaming at her to do. He watched her with approval.

"Come out, Tamashī no karitori!" She called out and the zampakuto lengthened to it's scythe form. The spirit was stronger in her mind, giving her the strength to move towards her captain. She saw him smile as she walked towards him.

"I'm glad I don't have to chase you. So what is this second release?" He asked as she drew near enough to not shout.

She pointed the scythe towards him and held it out steady and shouted, "Touch of Death!" As she finished the phrase, a pair of skeletal hands flew from the end and sped towards the captain. He tried to push them with his spiritual pressure, but it caused them to speed up. He tried to swipe them away, but his blade passed through them. Soon they passed through him and he gasped as his spiritual pressure was greatly reduced. He looked to his subordinate and growled. She was looking at the spiritual pressure coming off the man, "About thirty percent is what it took from you. Tamashī no karitori tells me that it will come back to you in about 15 minutes. Eventually, he thinks that it would stay away for a full day, but because I've just learned it, the staying power is not so great."

"You could take away all of my spiritual pressure in four hits?"

"I don't think that's how it works. Let me try again." She did the same thing and studied the results as Kenpachi staggered with the sudden reduction, putting his hand to his chest where the hands had gone into him. "It's the same. Thirty percent of the amount of available spiritual pressure. With multiple hits, the amount taken each hit reduces as the amount of available spiritual pressure decreases."

"I don't like how this feels, Suzume. How do other people handle this low level of spiritual pressure?" He asked incredulously.

Suzume looked down, a little hurt by his words even though she knew they weren't directed at her. "You still have quite a bit more than me right now. I think another hit, maybe two would bring you down to what I have. I get by because I've never known what it's like to have the kind of spiritual pressure you're walking around with."

Her head was still lowered when he looked over to her. "I didn't mean it like that." He sighed, "That's not true. I did mean it like that, but it was out of frustration." He rubbed her cheek and pulled her face up so that she would look at him, "I don't look down on you for having less spiritual pressure then me. If it was like that, I would look down on everyone except maybe the old man. It's just frustrating not being able to wrap it around myself like an armor like I usually do. I guess it's just because it's always been there and if feels weird now that it's not."

They sat together, waiting for his spiritual pressure to return. When it returned, Kenpachi gasped a little, surprised by the sudden rush. A few moments later the rest of his spiritual pressure returned and he quickly replaced his eye patch as he could feel the girl next to him begin to tremble a little.

"Sorry. Don't really have complete control over my body when your spiritual pressure is full out like that."

"There's nothing to apologize for, you know." He replied as he gave her back a quick rub of affection.


	8. Chapter 8

**I didn't realize that the last chapter had not been uploaded. Sorry about that. I've also noticed that my line breaks did not go into previous chapters and I also noticed a few "Kourri's" that didn't get changed out. When I have a chance I'll change those out.**

* * *

It was two days later when one of the men that had gone out on the patrol came staggering into Captain Zaraki's office. The man was clutching his chest, hands bloody from trying to cover a wound.

Suzume grabbed one of the chairs and set it in front of the captain's desk and said, "I'll grab someone from the 4th." And quickly ran out of the office.

"Sit." Was the command that came from Zaraki and his subordinate did so. This was not the 20th seat, this was one of the unseated members that had been sent out. He didn't remember the guy's name. Runi maybe? It didn't matter. Once the man took the offered seat, Kenpachi fixed the man a glare and said, "Report."

Trembling, the man responded. He didn't sound like he was in a lot of pain, but there was something different about the man, the captain was certain. "We found the man we were looking for in the north 46th district. The man's spiritual pressure was immense. I think it was higher than even your's Captain Zaraki. I was ordered to stay hidden and report the outcome should the others fail, so I did. It was like he was cutting weeds, captain. It didn't matter how the men attacked, he just slashed and they were dead. Every time he cut someone, I could see the spiritual pressure from our men entering the guy's blade and then enter him. He just kept on getting stronger. Everyone else was dead and I was trying to move away so I could report back and he was suddenly there. I was able to get away, but he cut me and took some of my spiritual energy."

As he was finishing his tale, Suzume and one of the higher ranked members of the 4th squad entered the office.

"I've heard his report, you may take him to the 4th division." Kenpachi told the seated officer who nodded and helped the man back to his own division for proper care.

When they had left, Suzume turned to her captain and asked, "What happened to him?"

Kenpachi related what the man had told him and she took a pensive pose, finger tapping against her lips.

"What is it?"

"I think he was allowed to escape so he could report back." She replied slowly.

He nodded after a few moments. "That makes sense." It was his turn to look pensive. After a few moments he began staring at her zampakuto. "This sounds like it might be a good fight, but I wonder if we'll end up needing that sword of yours when all is said and done. I need to report to the old man about this. Go find Ikkaku and work on that second release of yours." He ordered.

She nodded and left him to find the 3rd seat. She found him and explained the situation. He quickly agreed to the training and they went to the training grounds to fight. By the end of the day, the spiritual pressure taken by her zampakuto stayed away for a half hour.

* * *

The next day when Suzume entered the captain's office to start on paperwork, her captain was already there with Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Yachiru. He was explaining to his other officers what had happened and what they needed to do. He looked up when Suzume entered and gave her a small smile. "We are all going out to find this guy. We won't be hiding that we're soul reapers this time. Go get packed and we'll meet at the north gate in ten minutes." She nodded and left to go pack.

Turning to Ikkaku he asked, "How long does her blades' effect last now?"

"About a half hour, Captain. Are you really going to use it's power in a fight?"

"No. But considering the amount of spiritual pressure he's stolen, this is actually a fight I don't know the outcome of."

* * *

They were on their way to the outer northern districts. Suzume had packed some field dressings just in case this got bad. They were in the 40th district when they felt the immense spiritual pressure. It was much higher than Zaraki's. His three subordinates looked at him in astonishment. He felt so far away but he felt so strong. Yachiru just looked ready to watch a good fight.

"What? So I have to take off my eye patch. No big deal." He said confidently. Inside, he was nervous. He could actually die if that guy is any good with his blade. His abilities would definitely be stretched and he'd have to make sure his own spiritual pressure stayed sharp. This would be fun. He put on his battle grin and removed his eye patch. Might as well let the guy know where he was. With Yachiru on his shoulder and his subordinates trailing behind him, he walked towards the feeling of spiritual pressure in the distance.

Suddenly, the spiritual pressure in the distance started moving towards them quickly. Yachiru quickly jumped off her adoptive father's shoulder after telling him to have fun. She grabbed Suzume's hand and said, "Quick, let's go get some good seats to watch Kenny's fight!"

Suzume looked to her captain and she saw him give a quick nod. He didn't want her in this fight if he could help it. They flash stepped to a higher roof top that had a good view of the area. They watched as Yumichika and Ikkaku leaned against a nearby building that would be out of the immediate area. They had no interest in getting in their captain's way during a fight. Only fools did that.

The man came into view. He was a tall and well-built man. He looked similar to Zaraki. He looked similar in that he looked like he came from the same area as Zaraki did. Beyond regional similarities, they looked nothing alike. The man was a blonde haired, blue eyed Viking of a man. The only thing he was missing was the beard and he might have been mistaken for one. His chest was bare and he sported a long slanting scar. It went from his right shoulder to his left hip.

"You told me to get stronger and come after you again, Zaraki. Did you get my messages?" He called out.

"I did. I told you to get stronger, not to steal strength from others. You're pitiful."

"Same thing. Are you ready to die, Zaraki?"

He smiled, "Not today. Did you get any sword skill with all that spiritual pressure?"

"Come and find out."

They came together with a clash and moved faster than anyone could really track. Kenpachi had the man on sword skill, but couldn't get through the blonde man's skin no matter how sharp he made his spiritual pressure. Even the eyes seemed covered in it.

"How does it feel not being able to even put a scratch on your opponent?"

"Just means it's a good fight!"

As he said that, the blonde man got through Kenpachi's defenses and cut him on the chest. It wasn't deep but immediately some of his spiritual pressure started to leak from him, into the sword and into the man in front of him.

"You are making me stronger, Zaraki." The man laughed wildly at this.

On the roof, Suzume quietly released her zampakuto and aimed at the blonde man. She had a good shot she could take. Yachiru quickly grabbed the end and pushed it down and shook her head, "If you do, he'll never forgive you. Don't interfere."

Suzume nodded and kept her blade in it's released state.

The battle raged on with the blonde man steadily gaining spiritual pressure from Kenpachi. It was sometime later the man had him on his back and was pulling back for a killing blow. Ikkaku and Yumichika ran to intercept and were both swept aside like so much kindling. The blows were severe and though they still lived, most of their spiritual pressure had been stolen. The man went back to the fallen captain.

Watching this all unfold, Suzume turned to Yachiru, "Go get Unuhana, now!" She hissed and without waiting to see if the small girl would obey, she flash stepped in front of the falling blade, catching it with her scythe, the bladed end pointing at the blonde man. Very quickly, she said the words, "Touch of death!" and before the man could react, the hands passed through him, taking some of his spiritual pressure with him. He staggered and she did it again hitting him before he knew it. He slapped her aside and she flew into the side of a building.

"The mouse wants to fight? This might be fun. I'll just replenish what I lost after I kill you." He roared.

Knowing that the effect would be lessened, she silently gave the command to send out the spectral hands over and over. A set of three popped out and raced towards him. Thinking he could just use his spiritual pressure to knock them away he pushed out with it. He was too surprised to even try to move or swing his blade when they just sped up. By now his spiritual pressure was much closer to her captain's when he took off his eye patch.

"You'll pay for that, mouse!" He growled as he charged her. He was so fast! But she was able to dodge at the last minute and get off another blast.

She used every trick she could think of to keep that blade of his away from her, but he managed to stab her a couple times. The thing was, she was also able to get off a couple blasts when he was that close. Her own spiritual energy was getting low and her blade was getting harder and harder to move. _Help me!_ She called to her zampakuto's spirit. _He doesn't have the sword skill, but he's just too strong for me, and I'm so tired._ She could feel the reassuring presence of the spirit and the feel of his hands on the scythe. The blonde brute surged forward, thinking she was finished. Together, they swung the scythe and a line of red appeared on his neck and then he fell as blood started pumping from his ruined neck. The spirit still had his hands on the scythe and directed them to the sword the man was using. It looked so plain. He directed her to lift the blade and slam it down on the blade of the sword. It shattered and they watched as the spiritual pressure was released from the blade.

Suzume gasped as her own was returned to her and she could hear her captain and superior officers gasp as theirs was also returned.

She let her blade return to it's normal shape and sheathed it. She would have to give it a good cleaning later. Moving was difficult as she had given the fight everything she had. Yumichika was the closest. She went over to him and looked over his wound. It was across his chest and pretty deep. She looked around for his pack, found it, and rummaged through it, looking for any field dressings. He hadn't brought much either. She used what she could, even ripping the sleeve of his uniform off to use to help stem the flow of blood.

She moved over to Ikkaku and did the same. Their wounds were almost identical. The blonde brute had hit them with the same stroke of his sword. Last, she went to her captain. He was breathing, but wasn't conscious. Looking over his wounds, she could tell that the blonde man had been toying with him. She looked for Zaraki's pack and found it near a building. The only thing in it was the healing salve Captain Unuhana had given him for his birthday. She brought that over to him and then flash stepped to get her pack and bring it down from the roof. Yachiru was nowhere to be found, so that meant that she had obeyed Suzume.

As she came down from the roof, the people of the district who had been hiding during the fight began to come out of their houses. A healer came out and checked over the rough bandage job she had given the 3rd and 5th seats and directed the other villagers to move them to the inn. The older woman came over to Suzume and helped her with her captain's wounds and then dressed Suzume's wounds. When she felt it was safe to move the large man, she had some of the men come and take him to the same inn.

Suzume followed after. Seeing her staggering, the woman motioned to one of other men not helping to carry the captain and motioned him towards the girl. He nodded and scooped her in his arms and carried her to the inn as well. She protested at first but realized she really didn't have the strength and let him carry her. Sleep soon claimed her.

* * *

She awoke in a strange bed. She looked around getting her bearings. It wasn't the squad 4 hospital. Maybe it was an inn of some sort? She remembered being carried towards one. Her field dressings had been changed and she recognized Captain Unuhana's work. She was still in her uniform, so she got up and opened the door. Not seeing anyone, she walked down to the tavern area of the inn. Unuhana was there, sipping a cup of tea with her lieutenant and a couple of her other seated officers. _Looks like squad 4 came in force!_ She thought to herself.

Unuhana turned and looked at Suzume and motioned her to a seat at the table. Suzume nodded and took the offered seat.

"I'm glad you're awake. Tell me what happened."

Suzume related everything and Unuhana nodded every now and then. When she finished, Unuhana gave her an appraising look.

"That is an impressive shikai. That you were able to defeat someone Captain Zaraki couldn't is a rare thing."

Suzume blushed, "He would have tossed me away like he did Ikkaku and Yumichika if it weren't for my zampakuto's ability." She looked up to the captain of the 4th squad. "I've never fought that well before. I don't understand." She shook her head.

The captain of squad 4 smiled kindly at her, "You have been training hard with your zampakuto, right?" When the girl nodded, she continued, "When you practice against friends and comrades, you really don't fight full out. If you did, my division would be packed with people with life threatening injuries. So, you hold back a little. You don't go for killing or maiming strikes. While you fight with friends, you don't have to use your instinct as much. You are developing it while you fight, but you don't use it to it's fullest extent either.

"When you fought that man, you were able to fight holding nothing back. Being around your captain, you've gotten used to large spiritual pressures, and the adrenaline during the fight helped you cope as well.

"From what you told me of the fight, it sounds like in sword skill, he would have ranked only a little higher then you, but as you kept on putting him off balance with that second release of yours, you were able to counter him. Not to mention, you've probably been training with Ikkaku, who is a very talented swordsman. That you were able to defeat him once his spiritual pressure had been greatly reduced doesn't surprise me. You are a member of the 11th division, after all."

Suzume smiled and nodded in understanding. "Where's Yachiru? I sent her to get you."

"It's good that you did. She's up with Captain Zaraki. I don't think he's regained consciousness yet. Ikkaku and Yumichika are doing well too. Nice field dressing, by the way." She said with a small smile. They both knew she was joking, but under the circumstances, it had really been the best she could do at the time.

"Can I go see him?" She didn't have to specify which him she was talking about. Unuhana nodded and directed one of her subordinates to show her to the room.

Before he opened the door for her, he admonished her to not wake him. She nodded her agreement and entered the room. His uniform top and captain's jacked had been removed and he was covered in bandages. Yachiru was sitting on the bed next to him and she looked up when the door opened.

"Unuhana said he was going to be ok. She made me leave his eye patch off so he could heal faster." Yachiru said, patting her adoptive father's hand. Suzume brought up a chair to sit next to her captain and Yachiru moved to sit in her lap. "Tell me about the fight. I didn't get to see any of it."

Suzume related what she remembered while she held on to the little girl. She reached out and grabbed her lover's hand and rubbed her thumb across his knuckles lovingly. He breathed deeply and opened his eyes a crack. He saw his women sitting together, gave a small smile and went back to sleep.

The next day they were all transferred back to the 4th squad. By then Ikkaku and Yumichika had regained consciousness, but Kenpachi had not. He traveled in the belly of Captain Unuhana's shikai, while the rest of them were able to travel on his back.

* * *

It was later that night when he gasped awake in the dark. He heard the familiar sounds of a cot squeaking as Suzume got up and sat at the edge of his hospital bed. He put his arm across her lap and held her close to his side. It hurt a little, but the pain was worth the contact.

"Tell me what happened." He commanded. His voice wasn't as strong as it normally was and she could hear his pain in it. She told him everything and he listened attentively, sometimes asking clarifying questions.

When she had finished her story, she asked him, "Who was he? He seemed to know you."

"When I was still traveling the outer districts with Yachiru, I came across him in the Zaraki district. He was looking for a fight and thought I would be easy meat with a little kid with me. By then I had stopped killing the men I fought. Yachiru had pointed out to me that if I kept on killing them, I would eventually run out of people to fight. We fought, but I found that he severely lacked in sword skill. He was just a hacker. Of course, that's saying something, coming from me. I probably wasn't much better back then. Of course, there was little reason for any real sword skill back then.

"At any rate, I gave him that scar to remember me by and told him to come after me when he got stronger. Hell, I don't even remember his name."

She rubbed his face lightly and he closed his eyes, enjoying the contact. "How are you feeling?"

"Still sore. I should be up and about by tomorrow." He mumbled into her hand, kissing it as it neared his lips.

"So soon?"

He opened an eye and looked at her, seeing the concern in her face, "I heal pretty quickly, remember. Besides, I'm The Kenpachi. I can't be lying about in a hospital bed for too long." He smiled as he spoke, bringing her hand back to his lips so he could kiss her fingertips.

"I'm glad you aren't mad at me for interfering in your fight."

"By the time you interfered, it wasn't a fight anymore. I'm upset that I couldn't beat him, but I'm proud of you for being able to do what I couldn't. Now no one will think I'm showing you favoritism when I raise you to the 10th seat."

"I almost didn't, you know. I really need to increase my stamina."

He nodded. "We can work on that. I can have you chase Yachiru around." He chuckled as he imagined the scene.

"You should get back to sleep, Love." She leaned down and gave a brief kiss and then got up. He could hear the cot being dragged over and it made him smile. It was much lower than his bed, but he dropped one of his arms over the side and felt her grab hold and snuggle into it. The position wasn't awkward and he soon fell back asleep.

In the morning, Suzume awoke to find that her lover was already awake and eating breakfast. His eye patch was back in place and he was wearing fewer bandages. She noticed that there wasn't any light foods like when she had been here. He saw her confusion and said, "Unuhana knows that if she tried to feed me a light meal in the hospital I'd raise hell. She doesn't use an IV on me unless I'm really badly injured, so I wake up very hungry." He quickly shoved a strip of bacon into his mouth. "Hurry up and eat or I'll assume you aren't hungry and eat it for you." He said around the food in his mouth, giving her a grin.

She laughed and sat next to him on the bed. She only ended up eating some eggs and a little bit of toast. She offered the rest to him and he happily ate it for her.

Shortly after they ate an orderly came in and checked his bandages. He ended up removing some more of them as the areas had already healed. "My captain said that you are free to leave whenever you wish to, Captain Zaraki. She has requested that your men stay for the rest of today and will be released tomorrow morning."

Captain Zaraki grunted and stood up. "No time like the present then." The orderly bowed and left, glad to leave the large captain's presence. Zaraki grabed his uniform top and captain's jacket and left to his division with Suzume happily walking next to him. She was amazed at the speed of his healing, but remembered that he had told her that he healed quickly that first "date" that they had had on his birthday.

* * *

Epilogue

The years went by and eventually they married and moved in together. Yachiru eventually looked to Suzume as a mother figure, but mostly, she was just happy that her "Kenny" was finally happy. Suzume eventually progressed to the 4th seat and when anyone ever tried to accuse Kenpachi of favoritism, all he had to say was, "Fine, you fight her and tell me I'm treating my wife with favoritism."

Sometimes they would take the challenge and sometimes they didn't. Those that did never told anyone else exactly what the girl's second release was like and it almost became a bit of an inside joke between the captains that had tried her out for themselves; often egging on a captain that wasn't in the know to fight her.

Even more years passed before she finally told her husband the news that she had learned bankai. He was eager to see it, but she very solemnly told him, "I can't, love. Remember how my second release is 'touch of death'?" She asked him. He nodded, "Well, my bankai is just death. From what I can tell, something that looks a lot like Tamashī no karitori comes out of the scythe and administers the kiss of death. He'll fight, but like his hands, he's spectral except for the scythe he carries."

Kenpachi was always amazed at his wife and her abilities. Her spiritual pressure had increased as she had gotten older, but was still below that of his 3rd seat. Though with a bankai like that, maybe one day she could be a captain as well. If a hole ever opened up, he would recommend her. He would hate having her out of his division, but he would never forgive himself for holding her back either. Either way, he looked forward to many years with his accidental lover. Strangely enough, she never did sing for him and he didn't mind. After all, as they used to joke, it would mean she would be allowed to die and he certainly didn't want that.

The End.

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**I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Reviews are always appreciated.**


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